Paper Gift Christmas Tree Ornament

1. Make a ring shape:

Cut a strip of paper. Bend it into a ring shape and glue the ends together. This is the first step for making a box shape. If you want a smaller box, cut the strip shorter. If you want a larger box, glue 2 strips together then shape into the ring. Note: large shapes may get too floppy to hold their shape, so you may want to use stiffer paper such as card stock or poster board if you plan to make bigger shapes using 2 strips.

2. Make a leaf shape:

Press the ring flat.

3. Make a square shape:

Open the leaf shape, line up the two folded places, and press the ring flat again. When you open it this time, it is no longer a ring, but a square or diamond shape. Pull and push the sides until all the sides are square.

4. Make a rectangle :

Make a rectangle in the same way as the square, but skip step 3. Instead, open the leaf shape, then flatten it again the distance from the original fold that you want the width of the rectangle to be.

4 Basic folds to make gift boxes

Original fold

New fold

Make the Square Shape

1.Cut a strip 1/2 inch to 1 inch wide (1-2 cm) the full length of the paper.
2.Form the strip into a ring and glue the ends together.
3.Flatten the ring.
4.Open the flattened ring, line up the folds and flatten the ring again. Open to a square.

Note: if you don’t understand these instructions, see photos below.

Mae the Square into a Gift

1.Cut a strip of contrasting paper to form the ribbon.
2.Glue the strip to the middle of the top of the square.
3.Fold the strip at the top and bottom of the square box.
4.Cut off excess paper.
5.Glue the paper strip to the bottom of the gift.

Make a bow in one of two ways

1.Make a ring in the same color, glue to the top of the ribbon and gift. Glue the ring in the middle, and press to glue only the middle--the sides should still be round like a bow. OR
2.Instead of making a ring, glue one end of the strip to the middle of the strip. Glue the other end in the middle also. Glue this “figure 8” to the top of the box.
3.Optional: make a tiny ring and glue in the middle of the “bow.”

Make Rectangle Shaped Gifts

See instructions below

Width of rectangle

Crafts > Crafts for Adults by Season > 15 Paper Christmas Tree Ornaments > Paper Gift Christmas Tree Ornament

Gifts have always been a part of Christmas--even from the very first Christmas when the wisemen gave gifts to the baby Jesus. We still carry on the gift giving tradition 2000 years later, so gifts make a good Christmas tree ornament, too,

These cute little ornaments are quick to make. If you plan for a classroom of kids to make them, cut out strips of paper with a paper cutter ahead of time, then in class, all the kids have to do is fold and glue them. If you don’t have a paper cutter, use lined notebook paper as a guide, but cut on every other line rather than every line, since the strips would be too narrow if you cut every line. Save time by cutting 3-4 sheets of paper at a time with the same effort as cutting one. You do need a good pair of scissors to do this. The sheets of paper do tend to slide, so readjust the sheets after each cut.